South Bay Digest

Manhattan Beach : Police Win 5.5% Salary Increase in New Contract

The City Council has approved a three-year wage and benefit package for the city's police sergeants and officers that grants a 5.5% salary increase each year.

The highest-paid officers' salaries will increase from $2,461 per month to $2,596 the first year, $2,739 the second year and $2,890 the third year. The city will pay for the increases from reserves in the general fund.

The agreement, which was ratified Monday by members of the city's police officers' association, also stipulates increases in medical and other benefits and implements a new work schedule requested by the association.

The agreement allows the department's 43 officers and nine sergeants to work a condensed schedule of nine days, rather than 10, in a two-week period. The schedule establishes three-day weekends every other week without changing the overall number of hours worked.

If successful, the plan would eventually lead to a schedule of 10-hour days, four days a week, according to a city spokesman.

The officers and sergeants have been working without a contract since July 13. The labor agreement ends three months of negotiations.